Advertising device



March 21, 1967 J. s. HICKMAN 3,310,163

ADVERTIS ING DEVICE Filed Dec. 28, 1964 INVENTOR. JOHN s. HICKMAN BYjndrus (f Star/Q Afromlevs United States Patent 3,310,163 ADVERTISINGDEVICE John S. Hickman, 4149 N. Stowell Ave.,

Shorewood, Wis. 53211 Filed Dec. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 421,258 3 Claims.(Cl. 206-20) This invention relates to an advertising device and moreparticularly to a matchbox construction containing programmedadvertising.

The conventional paper matchbook contains a series of rows of matcheswhich are stapled or otherwise connected together and contained withinan outer, folded book or package. When matches are removed from theconventional folded paper matchbook, the user is required to look at thebook in order to remove and strike the match. For this reason thematchbook is a prime means for conveying advertising mes-sages. In mostcases the outer surface of the matchbook will bear advertising material,while in other cases the inner surface of the book will also hearadvertising or the matches themselves may contain advertising.

The present invention is directed to a matchbox construction which isparticularly designed for programmed advertising. According to theinvent-ion the cardboard box or book includes a lower section, whichcontains a series of rows of matches, and a cover or lid is hinged tothe lower section and encloses the matches. Perforated tear sheets arelocated between adjacent rows of matches and extend beyond the matchheads. The tear sheets are adapted to bear advertising material and asthe matches in a row are removed the advertising on the tear sheet isprogressively exposed to the user.

It has been shown that distributed or periodic practice of learningmaterial, as opposed to mass practice, results in better retention ofthe material. Thus, if instead of massing an advertising message into afew brief minutes of reading, tiny but progressive and interrelatedsegments of the message are presented over a longer period of time thechances of retention are much greater. The tear sheets in the matchboxof the invention accomplish both objectives of advertising, namely tocapture the readers attention and to instill in 'him tiny repeatingsegments of the advertising message. The tear sheets are ideally suitedfor this purpose because they put to use the empirical laws of learning.

The box which contains the matches and tear sheets has a uniqueconstruction. As it is desired from an advertising point of view toinclude as many tear sheets as possible in the box, the number of rowsof matches in the box is greater than the number of matches in each row.This results in the match assembly having a substantial depth or height,and the lower section of the box has tapered side walls which slopedownwardly toward the heads of the matches to provide access to thematches in the lower rows. The cover is hinged to the lower section by acantilever type of action which permits the cover to be readily openedand closed and yet provides a locking action to retain the cover in theclosed position.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the followingdescription.

The drawings illustrate the best mode presently con-- templated ofcarrying out the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the matchbox of the invention with thecover in the closed position;

FIG; 2 is a perspective view of the matchbox showing the cover in theopen position;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through the matchbox showing thematches and the tear sheets and 3,310,163 Patented Mar. 21, 1967 The box1 is preferably formed of a folded, single sheet of cardboard andcomprises a lower section 4 which contains the matches 2 and an upperlid or cover 5 which is hinged to the lower section. The lower section 4includes a bot-tom surface 6, an end wall 7 and a pair of side walls 8.Each of the side walls 8 is cut diagonally so that the side walls taperdownwardly toward the heads of the matches to enable the matches in thelower rows to be easily removed. In addition, one of the side walls 8 isshorter than the other side wall and terminates along edge 9. The notchor recess provided by edge 9 also provides additional access to thematches in the lower rows.

The cover or lid 5 includes a top wall 10, a pair of side walls 11, afront end wall 12 and a rear end wall 13. The side walls 11 are cut ortapered to conform generally with the taper 9 of the side walls 8.

To hinge the cover 5 to the lower section 4 a tab 14, formed integrallywith the end wall 13, is attached by an adhesive 15 or other fastener tothe bottom surface 6 of the lower section. As best shown in FIG. 3, theattachment 15 of the tab 14 to the bottom surface 6 is intermediate theends of the matches 2 and is spaced from the end of the bottom surface6. With this type of connection, the cover 5 can be pivoted around theattachment to enable the front end 12 to move beyond the end wall 7 ofthe lower section 4. The inherent resiliency of the cardboard will thenurge the front end wall 12 rearwardly against the end wall 7 of thelower section to provide a locking connection between the members andprevent the cover from moving to the open position.

As best shown in FIG. 3, a series of cardboard spacers 16 are locatedbetween the bases of the matches 2 in each of the rows and the matches2, spacers 16 and the ends of the tear sheets 3 are connected togetherand secured to the bottom surface 6 of lower section 4 by the staples orother types of fasteners.

In order to facilitate the removal of the tear sheets 3, each tear sheetis provided with a perforation 17 which extends transversely of thesheet along its base portion.

A suitable abrasive striking member 13 is applied to the bottom surface6, and the matches are struck against the member 18 after their removalfrom the box.

As previously mentioned, the upper surface of each tear sheet is adaptedto contain advertising or other written material. When the userinitially opens the box he will remove the tear sheet 3 cove-ring thetop row of the matches, and will then individually remove the matches inthe uppermost row. As the matches are removed, the advertising materialon the tear sheet located beneath the uppermost row of matches will beprogressively exposed. Due to the fact that the tear sheets 3 projectbeyond the heads of the matches, the user will normally remove all ofthe matches in a row before removing the next tear sheet. In this way hewill be progressively exposed to the advertising material on the tearsheet, and this will result in a better retention of the materialcontained on the tear sheet.

A thin strip of non-drying adhesive 19 can be applied to the undersurface of each of the tear sheets 3. The

. adhesive is located about one-quarter of the distance before thematches in the layer can be removed. This assures proper exposure to thewritten message or advertising material contained on the tear sheet.

It is contemplated that the tear sheets may contain a simple quiz. Forexample, one of the tear sheets may contain a question and as the userprogressively removes the matches from one row, he will repeatedly seethe question on the tear sheet. The answer to the question can appear onthe matches in the next succeeding row, or on the next succeeding tearsheet. The matchbox will usually be designed for right-handed removal ofmatches. This being the case, the natural tendency is to initiallyremove from each row the match 2a located adjacent the side wall havingthe cut-back edge 9. For this reason, the answer to the quiz or questionon each tear sheet is preferably located on the next succeeding tearsheet beneath the match 2a, so that the answer will be revealed when thematch 2a is removed from the row. If the user responds with the correctanswer to the quiz, his reward consists of knowing he gave the rightanswer and this aids in better retention of the written message orlearning material. The quizzes contained on the tear sheets can beprogrammed to teach the user the advertisers message and usually themessage is broken into small segments which will be more readilyretained than a massed advertising message.

While the above description is directed to a matchbox constructioncontaining programmed advertising, it is contemplated that the sameprinciple can be utilized with other items rather than matches. Forexample, sticks of candy or gum, instead of matches, can be positionedin rows in a box and separated by the tear sheets which contains theadvertising or other written message.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the claims.

I claim:

1. An advertising device, comprising a container, a series ofsuperimposed layers of removable items disposed within the containerwith each layer including a plurality of items and a first item of eachlayer being located along the side edge of each layer, means forremovably connecting the items to the container, and a plurality ofunitary tear sheets located between adjacent layers of said items withsaid tear sheets being substantially ooextensive with said items, eachtear sheet bearing a written question adapted to be progressivelyexposed as the items in each layer are removed from the container and anedge portion of the next succeeding tear sheet bearing the answer to thequestion.

2. An advertising device, comprising a container, a series ofsuperimposed layers of removable items disposed within the containerwith each item having a base and an outer end, means for removablyconnecting the base of each item to the container, and at least fourunitary sheets, the individual sheets being interspersed betweenadjacent layers and said sheets being substantially coextensive withsaid items and extending continuously across each layer, at least aplurality of said sheets bearing a written question and a sheetsucceeding each of said question bearing sheets bearing a written answerto said question.

3. A matchbox construction comprising a box having a bottom surface, anassembly of matches supported on the bottom surface and including aseries of layers of matches with each layer extending parallel to saidbottom surface, said matches having a base portion and a head, means forattaching the base portion of the matches to the box, and a plurality ofunitary tear sheets located between adjacent layers of matches with oneend of each tear sheet being attached to the base portions of thematches and the other end of the tear sheets projecting to a positionbeyond the heads of the matches, the total number of sheets beinggreater than the number of matches in any one layer, at least aplurality of said tear sheets bearing a written question and a tearsheet following each of said plurality of tear sheets bearing an answerto said question.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,747,601 2/1930Reps et al 20657 2,105,842 1/1938 Pindell 206-29 2,246,427 6/ 1941Wilton 206-29 3,108,734 10/1963 Hewko 22944 FOREIGN PATENTS 970,773 6/1950 France.

0 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

J. M. CASKIE, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN ADVERTISING DEVICE, COMPRISING A CONTAINER, A SERIES OFSUPERIMPOSED LAYER OF REMOVABLE ITEMS DISPOSED WITHIN THE CONTAINER WITHEACH LAYER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ITEMS AND A FIRST ITEM OF EACH LAYERBEING LOCATED ALONG THE SIDE EDGE OF EACH LAYER, MEANS FOR REMOVABLYCONNECTING THE ITEMS TO THE CONTAINER, AND A PLURALITY OF UNITARY TEARSHEETS LOCATED BETWEEN ADJACENT LAYERS OF SAID ITEMS WITH SAID TEARSHEETS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID ITEMS, EACH TEAR SHEETBEARING A WRITTEN QUESTION ADAPTED TO BE PROGRESSIVELY EXPOSED AS THEITEMS IN EACH LAYER ARE REMOVED FROM THE CONTAINER AND AN EDGE PORTIONOF THE NEXT SUCCEEDING TEAR SHEET BEARING THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.